Sun Muyang, hearing the not-so-quiet comments from those two, couldn't help but look displeased, clenching his fists but refraining from confronting them. He knew well he wasn't particularly liked in this group; if not for his smarts in advising the leader and the resources he'd gained by using his looks on a powerful ability user, he'd have no standing here.
But it didn't matter; he believed once Park Su woke up, his days of hardship would end. That person would surely follow his lead again, and then he'd make those two pay.
With a cold snort, he retorted, "Too bad some people, even if they wanted to sell their looks, have nothing to sell."
The two behind him, angered by his words, wanted to give him a piece of their mind, but were held back by others. Not wanting to deal with their cowardly demeanor, Sun Muyang left without further acknowledgment.
Meanwhile, Park Su felt his body burning, as if being torn apart. His consciousness was hazy, and when he groggily opened his eyes, he saw zombies biting at him.
In shock, he tried to struggle but realized one arm was already gone, the other rapidly changing color. His bones seemed to stiffen, signifying his transformation into a zombie. He was in disbelief—how could this happen? Hadn't he been reborn? Hadn't he met Xu Nuo?
Why was he among zombies, and why had he turned into one, a one-armed zombie at that? He started struggling wildly, pushing the zombies away. Perhaps because he was fully transformed, the other zombies lost interest and stopped attacking him.
Despite this, Park Su saw the deep wound exposing his guts on his abdomen, his missing arm, and a leg stripped of flesh. His face, though he couldn't feel it, he knew was no longer intact. However, the grotesque transformation seemed to have numbed him to pain.
What baffled him was that, despite turning into a zombie, he still retained his thoughts.
If he had returned to the moment when Sun Muyang pushed him into the zombie horde in his past life, and he was now undergoing zombification, as a sixth-tier ability user, he'd only transform if there were zombies of the sixth tier in that group. Otherwise, he would have been consumed down to nothing. It was unclear whether this was a stroke of fortune or misfortune.
Park Su moved his limbs; thankfully, his joints were still flexible and undamaged. Now, he was genuinely puzzled—whether the two months he had lived with Xu Nuo was a dream or if he was currently in one.
He clearly remembered encountering Sun Muyang again, then feeling his energy go haywire, his body in pain, blacking out, and remembering nothing after. Could he have been foolish enough to die again because of Sun Muyang? No way!
Regardless, he wouldn't let Sun Muyang off this time, but he also didn't want to join the zombies in preying on humans. He just wanted to find Sun Muyang and make him pay for his deceit.
If he had indeed returned to that moment in the past, and he was zombified then, judging by the relatively intact state of his body, Sun Muyang couldn't be far. With his knowledge of the return path, finding him shouldn't be too hard. Even as a zombie, he was a tier-six ability user before, now directly becoming a tier-five zombie, his speed was unmatched by regular zombies, akin to that of a tier-four speed ability user.
Unless Sun Muyang had some means of transportation, he should be able to catch him before nightfall. Moreover, his retained cognition allowed him to resist the allure of food and evade capture by other ability users. His sole focus was capturing Sun Muyang for revenge, to die with peace of mind.
After all, having killed so many zombies, the thought of becoming one was unbearable. Living like this might as well be death.
With this conviction, he trudged on. Maybe his earlier speculation was correct; Sun Muyang did have transport, but becoming a zombie had made traveling effortless, even invigorating.
Finally, his persistence paid off. In the night, he caught the scent of human flesh, his heightened senses pinpointing the familiar smell of the person he sought. His red eyes glowed with determination—found him!
Silently, he evaded the watchman, following the scent to the room where Sun Muyang was. He wanted to barge in but realized that, as a zombie, he was now humanity's enemy, and going in recklessly might end with him being killed by other ability users nearby.
He could only peer through the dim candlelight to assess the situation before acting. Then, he saw Sun Muyang sitting on the bed with another man standing closely behind him. Even in poor light, Park Su could tell it was another man.
Though not surprised, the sight chilled him. He knew Sun Muyang would find another man, but he hadn't expected it to be so soon, perhaps even while they were together, though he had deceived himself about it.
Now devoid of any feelings for Sun Muyang, this scene only brought him a cold sense of mockery at his own past stupidity.
As a living dead, Park Su had neither breath nor heartbeat, making him nearly undetectable unless he moved or someone passed by. He quietly stood there, listening to the conversation inside, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
"You've dealt with him?! But didn't you say he was from the Park family? Are you sure you won't be in danger if Base B finds out it was you who did it? How dare you touch him?"
Sun Muyang's familiar yet cold voice responded immediately, "Others might not know, but after following him for so long, how could I not? He's been at our Base S for six years, with barely any contact with Base B. Even when there was contact, it was through me. In fact, as long as I say he's fine, he's fine. Conversely, if I say he was unfortunately eaten by zombies while hunting, they might be sad but will believe my story. Don't forget, to outsiders, we were very loving.
More importantly, by doing this, I can bind us together tightly. Like you said, we can't easily offend the Park family at Base B. Although that old man hasn't asked about him for years, his mother still lives there. Now, we share a secret; we're on the same boat. You'd better not think about abandoning me; I wouldn't mind pulling you down with me."
Park Su watched as, after Sun Muyang spoke, the man in front moved even closer; from his angle, they seemed almost about to kiss. The other's tone was light, with a hint of teasing, "Is it really okay to treat the lover who helped you for six years like this? And do you really not feel guilty, tying us together like this?"
Sun Muyang seemed to hear this as the biggest joke, lifting his hand to half-embrace the man, "Isn't it all your fault for being so handsome, good-hearted, and helping me gain an offensive ability? Now I'm an ability user, somewhat worthy of your status, but if others knew I abandoned the brother who once helped me, your father would definitely oppose our relationship even more. Instead, staging a scene where I've lost a dear brother works better. If the act is good, everyone, including your father, will see me as loyal and righteous. That would make our relationship smoother."
Park Su couldn't help but sneer inwardly. Brothers? F*ck, when you called me your husband, you didn't mention being brothers then. Thinking about being lovers with someone like Sun Muyang for so many years was nauseating, even more than the fact that he was now a zombie. His previous suspicions were spot on; Sun Muyang had always thought this way, and the only thing he hadn't anticipated was that he was already involved with another man while they were together. He had been blind beyond belief back then. The only regret was that the room was too dark to clearly see who this other man was.
After confirming Sun Muyang's intentions, Park Su only wanted to deal with this source of his distress quickly. He began calculating the odds of successfully assassinating both men if he attacked now. After all, he knew Sun Muyang had just awakened his abilities not long ago, at best reaching tier two, nowhere near a match for a tier-five zombie like himself.
The problem was with the other man. Although he couldn't sense his ability tier as a zombie, he could instinctually feel the threat the other posed. However, to just let them go would make his return here pointless. Perhaps he should wait a bit longer, until they were caught up in the throes of passion; men generally have their guard down then. He could definitely strike them down in one fell swoop, dealing with this pair of scoundrels.